Foreign Experience of the Functioning of Penitentiary Systems: Prospects for Improving National Legislation

Abstract

The article analyzes advanced practices of the functioning of penitentiary systems in foreign countries. Attention was focused on such aspects as: the expediency of using deprivation of liberty as the main form of punishment, the types of institutions for the execution of punishment, the functioning of state and private institutions of deprivation of liberty and the expediency of introducing a similar practice in Ukraine, professional training of personnel of institutions of deprivation of liberty. In particular, it was established that such type of punishment as deprivation of liberty is not an effective measure, as there is a probability of repeated crimes. This led to the analysis of the experience of applying criminal punishments associated with deprivation of liberty in those foreign countries where recidivism after release has a fairly low share of all crime. Due to repeated statements about the creation of private prisons in Ukraine, special attention was paid to this issue. Countries where the practice of private prisons has already been tested (USA, Great Britain, Australia) were taken as an example, and issues that should be paid special attention to when introducing this institution in our country were summarized. Taking into account the fact that the personnel of the penal institutions are constantly in contact with the convicted person due to the performance of their official duties, the issue of his professional training is highlighted as important. In this aspect, the preparation for the humanization of personnel education and the technology of combining theory and practice with the introduction of progressive experience of penitentiary activity deserve further analysis and implementation. It is clear that it is impossible to fully borrow foreign experience in the application of deprivation of liberty and serving a sentence, but the isolated issues must be taken into account when implementing progressive practices into national legislation. Key words: penitentiary system; criminal law; execution of punishments; convicts; probation; institutions of execution of punishments; national legislation; implementation.